#KissPitch 2018: A Guide to Hashtags, Pitches and Etiquette

February 6, 2018

#KissPitch 2018 is almost here, and we’ve got the deets! Your All The Kissing admins hope #KissPitch will become an event both writers and industry pros will look forward to year after year. With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, many of you have already started building pitches, and a little refresher never hurts. However, for some, #KissPitch might be your first pitch event, and All The Kissing is here to help guide you.

So, let’s jump right in!

OH, AND THERE MAY BE A SURPRISE AT THE END!

Building Pitches

Lucky you, you have 280 characters to pitch in instead of 140. Still, shorter is better—if you need the 280, use it, but remember your hashtags in your character count. Both plot and voice-based pitches have their advantages. When we only had 140 characters to work with it was nearly impossible to include both, but things they are a changin’.

Plot-Based Pitches

The goal of this type of pitch is to convey characterization, plot, setting and stakes. There are several variations, but this a baseline with tons of variations for you to build on:

When [main character] [inciting incident] [result], but [stakes].

Try to be specific when building a plot pitch. What sets your story apart?

Example: SCORPION + THE GAME PLAN. When a shy college jock discovers a cure for cancer his instant fame draws unlimited funding. When drug companies put a price on his head, the high school crush who dumped him becomes his only hope for survival. #KissPitch #NA #CR #HOT.

Hot tip: Comparative titles are a great way to let the pros know exactly where you’ve positioned your manuscript, but try to be original in your selections and remember that comps aren’t a requirement.

Voice-Based Pitches

Often letting your voice shine can come at the expense of the story’s plot and stakes, but It’s easier to combine the two with increased character availability. Voicy pitches are tricky. This one had a great response rate because of the voicy nature, but lacked the plot stakes.

Example: What’s a curvy girl gotta do to get laid in NOLA? Not much if she meets a frontman who prefers women as curvy as his guitars. OWN #DVPit #CR.

Try mixing up your four allotted pitches using both voice- and plot-based styles. Some agents/publishers don’t respond to voice-y pitches at all—they want the facts only—while others love getting a glimpse of your writing style.

Watch your responses the day of the event, decide which is working better for you, and adjust on the fly.

Also, the best place to fine-tune your pitches is with the All The Kissing Facebook community. Test as many pitches as you like, help others fine-tune theirs, and get to know other great romance writers.

Hashtag Importance

Without the proper tags, you’ll eliminate the chance of your pitches being seen. Certain tags are required and must figure into your character limit. Required tags are #KissPitch, category, and romance subgenre.

Category Hashtags

Agents and editors need to know what category your manuscript is. Not the same thing as genre, category refers to the age of your characters and readership. Here are the brief descriptions.

#YA — Young Adult. Mid to late teens facing high school type situations. Coming of age stories with tastes of future experiences.

#NA — New Adult. Late teens to early twenties. Characters experiencing the world as “adults” while facing situations/consequences of such decisions. NA has a more mature voice. Often considered a period of transition from into adulthood.

#A — Adult. Early twenties and up. Characters with life experience whose thoughts and decisions reflect such, who’ve transitioned away from the “first time on my own” issues that NA characters face.

Hot tip: Category is not as easily defined as an slapping an age range next to the moniker. It is often just as important to consider the mental maturity level and life-experience of your characters.

#DR — Dark Romance varies widely because it’s dependent on an individual feeling created in the reader. Villains, anti-heroes, gritty themes, blurred morality. Readers might feel uneasy when they find themselves rooting for a main character with questionable morals.

#SR — Sweet Romance would have chaste sexuality to mild sexual contact (i.e., hand-holding, sweet kisses) involved in the story telling. Sweet romances are not necessarily religious in nature, but never go beyond a fade-to-black with sex scenes.

#OwnVoices (or #OWN) — The story features marginalized main character(s) and is written by an author who knows what it’s like to walk in their character’s shoes. Authors are not required to disclose any personal information they are not comfortable with.

#POC — The story’s main character(s) is/are people of color.

For more info on the appropriate us of identifying tags, marginalized voices and using the tags appropriately, please refer to www.DVpit.com.

If you have any questions about hashtags you can comment below or contact any of the All The Kissing administrators through our Facebook group. If you prefer a private message, I’m available on Twitter as @tlynne67.

#KissPitch 2018 Event Etiquette

It’s important to us that #KissPitch 2018 is an enjoyable experience for everyone. Please don’t abuse our four pitch limit or pitch agents/editors directly. They will let you know if they want to see your work by favoriting your tweet. Any manuscript you pitch should be completed, polished and query ready. You may only pitch your work between 9 a.m and 9 p.m. EST on February 14, 2018.

It’s your responsibility to vet every industry professional before you send requested materials. All The Kissing and its administrators can’t be held responsible for favorites you recieve, or lack thereof, or any interaction you have with agents/publishers as a result.

Please, leave the ❤️s (favorites) for requesting editors and agents. DON’T favorite your friend’s tweets. Many Twitter users ask their regular followers not to favorite any of their tweets for the day to alleviate confusion. Please, don’t use graphics, screencaps or links to works published elsewhere. Let your pitch speak for itself.

Be kind and considerate. Publishing is a small community with a long memory. Hateful, disparaging or inappropriate comments/tweets will not be tolerated. Please report abuse to Twitter and an All The Kissing admin immediately. Full #KissPitch 2018 rules can be found at AllTheKissing.com. Bending the rules may result in us asking you to remove your pitches and/or elimination from future All The Kissing events/contests.

To report serious issues and abuse the day of the event, contact any of the All The Kissing administrators through their Twitter accounts.

Agents and editors listed above have confirmed they will read pitches, but they aren’t required to make requests. We also don’t require that agents/editors “commit” to participate because you could miss out on some fabulous love from industry pros who decide to drop by! Editors and agents may favorite your pitches any time after the pitch window closes.

Check back between now and February 14 to see if agents or editors are added to our list! We wish you all the best of luck, all the ❤️’s and Valentine’s Day love, and All The Kissing ?.

Tricia Lynne is fluent in both sarcasm and cuss words and has little filter between her brain and mouth––a combination that tends to embarrass her husband at corporate functions. A tomboy at heart, she loves hard rock, Irish whiskey, and her Midwestern roots. She’s drawn to strong, flawed heroines, and believes writing isn’t a decision one makes, but a calling one can’t resist.

A member of the Romance Writers of America, she lives in the North Dallas ‘burbs with her husband, and three goofy dogs. Her debut, Moonlight & Whiskey, is slated for release Spring, 2019 with Random House/Loveswept.

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About All The Kissing

Welcome to All The Kissing! We’re a group of romance writers who love our craft and want to give back to the fabulous writing community. Our goal with this site is to share the expertise we’ve gathered throughout our writing journeys. We’ll discuss topics specific to romance, as well as a few other themes near and dear to our hearts.